


Not Forever (Only Always)

by Lucidlucy



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Ambassador Rey, Ballroom Dancing, Emperor Hux, F/M, Fluff and Feels, Smut, So much smut, They get their happy ending after all (maybe), alternative ending, alternative universe, and a waltz, and sex, but also fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 10:35:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8159102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucidlucy/pseuds/Lucidlucy
Summary: After twenty years of watching her from afar, Emperor Hux finally gets Rey where he wants her when, for his fifty fifth birthday, he comes up a plan she cannot escape from.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EjBlaKit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EjBlaKit/gifts).



> The ending to [Manners](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7325851/chapters/16640332), reimagined. Had manners had a happy ending, this would be it.  
> Alternative epilogue, featuring a smutty reunion!

At thirty five, she walks away from him. At forty five, five years into his role as Grand Admiral of the Order, he sheds his shackles and overthrows Snoke with nothing but a shrewd mind and carefully concocted plans. By fifty five, he’s been wearing the Emperor’s circlet for a decade. On his fifty fifth birthday, Emperor Brendol Armitage Hux, now _First_ of his Royal Name, decides to stop waiting.

The celebration balls are extravagant, emissaries and visitors from all corners of the Galaxy having shown up to pay their respects to their mighty Emperor, he who rules with a fair but stern hand. His household is turned into a fairytale, of the kind only now existing in books, halls decorated in creams and golds –– so very different from his past in blacks and reds –– and yet despite all the grandeur displayed to draw the eye and bewitch the mind, his eyes can only follow a lone figure dressed in grey as she makes her way through the crowds.

He hadn’t seen her in, what? At least three years? Perhaps more. The last time she’d made her presence known at the Imperial Palace, Hux had to put his iron will-power to work to keep from bolting out of his throne and taking the dais steps two at a time; instead remaining silent as she spoke about some particular treaty nonsense or another that barely interested him. It gave him a chance to watch her lips move, however, and he had to fight his desire to lick his.

That night he’d invited her to dine. That very same night he’d been handed a slip of paper informing him that Rey of Jakku, now trusted diplomat of the counsel he’d put in place, could not make it. Some particular treaty nonsense or another that barely interested him. Only _that girl_ would turn down the Emperor’s personal invitation, and yet… Hux had only sighed. She’d been slipping through his fingers for years, after all. He could hardly be upset.

He was an emperor now. A King of Kings. And yet the Queen he wanted for himself kept sneaking around, an eternal game of cat and mouse, always at the edge of his peripheral vision but never there when he chanced a look. This time, it would be different.

He tracks her as she moves around, giving bright smiles that steal his breath away to other people who don’t deserve them –– and yes, he’s jealous, even if he refuses to admit it to himself  –– while Hux sits up on his throne, circlet of gold carefully perched on his now red-salted-white hair, watching.

It had all been for this, he reminds himself as his eyes focus on the tinge of pink Rey’s cheeks have taken on.

Hux hates the idea of waste, of extravagance, of frivolity spun into the silvery sugar-sweetness of the night. He’d had a half mind to spend his birthday locked up in his office working, until, that is, he’d receive note that an envoy of diplomats were on their way to speak with him around that same day _anyway_ , Rey amongst them. So he’d set to plan. He had, after all, made it this far in life by sheer planning. _Nobody_ would turn down a personal invitation to the Emperor’s birthday bash.

When it is announced that the Emperor will now choose a lucky attendant to share his first dance of the night with, and Hux walks decidedly in Rey’s direction, he smiles at the way her lips quirk and she shakes her head. Perhaps she’s aware of his intentions, of the inevitable, or perhaps she’s trying to get him to choose somebody else. He won’t listen. The crowd parts for him like the sea, dips in curtsy or bow alike, until there are only two people standing tall and proud, as they should: Hux and his beloved.

“Lady Ambassador,” he greets as he extends a hand for her to take. He won’t call her a Jedi, the one thorn between Hux and his happy ending. Rey narrows her eyes fractionally but gives him a warm smile. She could hardly be upset at him, either.

When she tries to dip into a curtsy, he pulls her up immediately with a tug of his fingers to hers. She would not bow to him, not if he had anything to say on the matter. Rey tilts her head gently.

“Your Majesty,” she murmurs. “Happy birthday.”

Hux smiles–– a languid, self satisfied smile at having finally gotten what he wanted. She can’t escape him _now_.

The circle of spectators widens as Hux brings her onto the floor and the music begins, but his eyes are on her. Rey gives a minute shake of her head again when he finally collects her in his arms, perhaps a little closer than appropriate. She gifts him a knowing smile nonetheless.

“Finally got what you were after,” she murmurs for his ears only when the waltz begins. Hux smirks. Oh, yes. It had been a knowing smile.

“Is it such a bad thing for an Emperor to get something he desires even once in his life?” he asks, and Rey bunches her fingers into the shoulder of his bright white robes, toying with the golden thread at the hemmed edges, picking off non-existent lint. She looks up at the circlet atop his head and says nothing. Until eventually, she can't help herself.  

“You should have picked somebody else to dance with,” she says, and Hux narrows his eyes.

“I wanted you,” he murmurs, leaning forward to whisper it in her ear. There’s a hushed sound just below the violin as the crowd whispers. Let them whisper. Let them stare. If he had his way, this simple act would one day become something of a normality. When he pulls back, Rey is blushing with the same girlish livelihood of years past, despite the softness he now finds under her clothes.

She’s still a Jedi, still stands ramrod straight and can best just about anybody, but the years have made her softer around the edges in entirely different ways. He pulls her in closer, relishing in that softness, so different compared to the hard edges _he’d_ gained. Her blush intensifies. This is _certainly_ beyond what’s appropriate for an Emperor’s hold on his subject. Hux preens. The sexual tension of twenty years has not abated, and his veins _sing_ at the contact.

But he tries to concentrate because they’re in a crowded room, after all, and so chooses to focus on the features that had haunted him instead. Her beautiful hazel eyes, her soft pink pout, the curve of her jaw. Twenty years. Never let it be said that Brendol Hux, once he’s set his mind to loving, does not love ardently. He gives her a soft smile.

“I have one small request to make,” he whispers into her ear once more and once more the hushed murmurs return. Rey tilts her head back to look at him and arches an eyebrow.

“What would that be?” she asks. Years of working in government, of playing liaison, of diplomacy and intrigue have given her a shrewdness he can only delight at. She’d always be on his level. Good.

“Would you join me in my rooms tonight?” he asks, trying to keep the begging from his lips even as her own quirk up at his unabashed cheek. Her brow goes up once again. “I promise to be on my best behavior.”

“Is that a command, Your Majesty?” she asks, once again bunching her fingers into his cloak. He feels a tendril of the Force caressing his jaw as she cannot do it physically in front of so many. Hux almost purrs.

“My birthday present,” he says, his eyes once again fluttering open. “It’s the only thing I’d like. Would you give me that gift?”

Rey lets out a soft huff as the music slows down, their time coming quickly to an end before Hux must begin dancing the night away with others, but there’s a tiny smirk on her lips as she dips into a curtsy.

“Fine. It is your birthday, after all,” she murmurs, then clears her throat when Hux bows to her. Oh, but he should _not_ bow, much less as deeply as he does. Hux can scarcely care. Let them stare.

The rest of his night passes in a pink and hazy blur, his eyes never quite recognizing his dancing partners while his mind’s eye fixates on the one set of features he’s so very eager to focus on again. By the time he walks into his rooms, Rey is sitting on a plush red couch, staring out the massive windows towards the green landscape. He takes a second to delight in the view, the one that now contains her.

It is late. Even after Hux had long excused himself and left the people of the Galaxy to their alcohol and their music, the clock reads two in the morning. He approaches with cautious steps yet he knows she’s long sensed him there. She doesn’t spook. Instead she turns her head and gives him a curious glance, head held high as a queen should.

He smiles a minute smile, dropping to one knee in front of her. Her eyes widen slightly but Rey still says nothing as he collects her hands in his and kisses her knuckles gently.

“Thank you for coming,” he says, sighing into the warmth of her that he had missed so dearly.

“How could I deny the Emperor his one birthday gift?” she asks, tone light and teasing as some of the tension dissipates from her shoulders. Here, in the quiet vastness of his rooms, Rey can touch him to her heart’s content. She hesitates, however, and he frowns.

He knows why. It’s the same reason she’d avoided him for years. Jedi were not allowed to engage in relationships, despite the fact that her Master had died long ago and she is the only one left of her kind. He’d known about her desire to follow in Skywalker’s steps, quietly keeping tabs on her travels across the galaxy looking for Force sensitive children. Still––

Hux purses his lips, biting back a sigh.

“It’s just us here, Rey, you don’t have to hold back,” he says. Rey looks down at her hands then back up at him. It is precisely her desire to follow in Skywalker’s steps that holds her back now.

“Rey,” he murmurs, quietly begging her to look at him at her feet. She swallows, pasting on a minute smile as she meets his eyes, and _oh_ those eyes would haunt him to the grave. Hux rubs his thumb over her knuckles.

“Marry me,” he says.

It comes tumbling out before he can stop the words. He had _planned_ this whole thing out. Had pictured it perfectly in his mind. It had been perfectly planned, perfectly timed, and… his plans always went out the window with this woman. Rey’s frown deepens and he watches her choke slightly.

“What?” she asks, voice strangled.

Hux clamps down, jaw set, then takes in a sharp breath. On the exhale, he allows his pre-conceived plans to fly out the window. When he looks up at her again, her eyes have misted over as they search his face, looking for _anything_ , anything that might betray this as a lie.

He leans forward and kisses the tip of her nose.

“Marry me,” he murmurs, this time with more conviction.

“Is that an order, Your Majesty?” she asks of him again, trying to put distance between his words and her feelings. Hux can just barely keep from rolling his eyes as he lets out a small, disgruntled sigh.

“Of course not. And even if it were, since when have you listened to me _anyway_ ?” he asks, and despite his annoyance, the giggle that escapes from her lifts his spirits just a little. Hux shakes his head. This woman would _definitely_ send him to his grave.

She finally reaches forward and cups his cheek, and like the sad, pathetic, touch-starved man that he is, he leans into it and nearly purrs. He tilts his head until he can kiss the warm inside of her hand, her wrist, her fingertips, just about anywhere he can touch.

“Your present,” she prompts when it’s obvious Hux would be happy to simply kneel at her feet and nuzzle her hand for eternity. “Or was my sitting here it?” she asks with a smile.

Hux’s eyes flutter open.

Just this much would make him happy for the night. He’s aware that he’s melted into a disgusting puddle of sentiment on the spot but–– it had been a long twenty years yearning for this. Nobody else had seen this side of him and nobody else ever would. He could indulge.

“Stay,” he says with the same begging tone of so long ago. She would not answer his proposal and he didn’t really expect her to, so there is no pain when an answer does not arrive. “Just for tonight.”

“You know it’s forbidden, Brendol,” she murmurs, but even as she speaks her hand moves up to remove the circlet of gold from over his temple. She gently places it aside after looking at it too long, before digging her fingers into his hair. Hux _melts_ , if melting more was even possible.

He melts at his name on her lips, for once unaccompanied by a royal title. He melts at her fingers in his hair, at her touch against his scalp. At the way she’d removed the blessing and the curse that rested over his head with a simple motion. At the way she’s looking at him now, as if there’s nothing she’s ever wanted more than to say screw the rules. He latches onto that.

“Forbidden by whom?” he asks carefully, leaning forward until his hands rest on her thighs. He carefully slides them up, up over her skirts, until his fingers can twine behind her hips, effectively caging her in. “You’ve been slipping through my fingers for two decades now, Rey, on some leftover nonsense from a man who could barely hold onto his own teachings.”

Rey winces, but she knows he speaks the truth. Even he, a non-Force sensitive, knew of the legends. Especially him. He’d had to deal with Kylo Ren, may his wretched soul rest in peace, for far too many years of his life. He’d known intimately about the failures of the Skywalker line. He refused to let their failures be hers. Or his. Rey sighs.

“I know,” she murmurs for his ears only, as if scared that the walls have ears.

“Then why do this to yourself?” he asks, refusing to drop it.

“There are rules,” she repeats, eyes hardening slightly. Hux _hates_ it immediately, leaning forward to gently press a kiss between her furrowed brows. Rey sags slightly.

“You’re the only one left. Change the rules.”

That earns him a pained laugh.

“Not all of us are Emperors, Brendol,” she retorts without heat, and Hux busies himself pulling the silver pins from her hair. She doesn’t swat his hands away or reproach him for it, so he takes his time.

One by one the hair pins come out until all of her lovely auburn hair tumbles down into his hands. He can see a few grey hairs coming in, barely enough to count on his left hand as he toys with the silky strands. He leans in and breathes at her temple. Sunshine and lavender.

“I missed you,” he whispers, pressing a tender kiss there. Tenderness does not come easy to a man like Hux, not unless it is directed at the woman before him. Rey runs her fingertips through his hair again and the soft sigh against his earlobe only encourages him; she lets them drop to the five o’clock shadow he’s learned to allow himself, giving it a soft scratch as she smiles.

“It looks good on you,” she murmurs and Hux hums. Rey leans into the sound and he kisses her temple again, his fingers gently moving towards her robes. He had a _whole_ sprawling set of royal rooms to himself where he would make it a point to take her, over and over, and show her she belonged here. But he’s in no rush. His fingers find the zipper at her back and he lowers it slowly, just enough for her neck and collarbone to be exposed.

“Stay,” he whispers when his mouth meets her collarbone. Rey shivers.

“Brendol,” she warns, but he only smiles against her skin. If she wanted out, she would have left by now. Little Rey, no matter how much time has passed, had always held the reins.

“Stay,” he murmurs again, nipping as he moves up towards her earlobe, breathing the words into her as his hands ghost down her sides and settle at her hips. “Stay and marry me.”

Rey grunts, and he smirks against her skin as he licks and kisses and soothes. He’ll break her walls down yet. His fingers dig into her hips and he tugs her closer, pushing himself between her knees, letting his other knee down until he’s begging at her heel, and wouldn’t this be the story of his life?

“Stay,” he whispers, kissing her earlobe and tugging on it with his teeth gently. She shivers, a full body shiver that runs down her spine as she lets out a soft “ _Bren”_ that sets his skin aflame. “Stay and marry me.”

“You’re awfully persistent,” Rey says, but her voice cracks a little when he suckles on her neck. Hux chuckles.

“Nothing is ever won without due diligence, sweetling,” he says, the endearment slipping out as if no time had passed at all. She _quivers_ under him and he delights in the knowledge that still, despite her hesitation, she responds to him just as easily.

“Stay,” he repeats.

“I can’t stay forever,” she replies, but her head tilts until her now feverish forehead rests on his shoulder. Yes, he’d wear her walls down yet.

“Hmmm,” he hums, giving his favorite spot on her hips a squeeze before moving his hands to completely undo her back zipper. Her robes fall from her chest and pool at her waist, and the naked sight makes his mouth water. Her breasts had filled out more through the years, no longer as pert as they had once been, but her nipples are still as rosy as he remembers and her skin just as beautiful. Rey narrows her eyes at him as her cheeks flush, but she’d never been ashamed of her body so she refuses to make herself small for him. He delights in it.

He also delights in knowing nobody else has touched her since their last encounter, and he can reclaim what is rightfully his.

“Stop staring,” she chides and he grins, a cheeky smile.

“You’re awfully bossy, or are you forgetting you’re talking to your Sovereign?” he asks and Rey snorts. A Queen worthy of any throne. His smile intensifies.

“You should marry someone who can give you an heir,” she protests, trying to make him see reason. Hux shrugs.

“You can give me one,” he  says and Rey laughs.

“I am not a young woman anymore, Bren,” she murmurs, sighing as he trails kisses up and down her neck, across her collarbone and down her chest. “What if I can’t?”

“Then I’ll just live forever,” he smirks before taking a soft nipple into his mouth. Rey’s fight starts leaking out at his ministrations.

“You don’t plan on giving up, do you?” she murmurs even as her head falls back and she sighs, eyes fluttering shut as her fingers run down his hair again and close gently at his scalp. He groans gently and suckles at her breast.

“Have you known me to ever give up, little one?” he says, dragging her down until he’s sitting on the floor and she’s on his lap. “I’m not one to give up on something I want.”

That’s a lie. He’d given up on it once. And he’d regretted it for two decades. Rey groans as her back arches into him, her legs finally wrapping around his waist, and Hux hums contentedly around her breast. He’d take his time. He had all the time in the galaxy. It belonged to him now, and he was in no rush to let her leave any time soon.

His hands trail her naked torso, his nails digging into her skin gently, trying to grab more, to feel more, to embed her into him until she’s part of him and there’s no separating them. Rey’s soft little moans float to him like music.

“S-stubborn man,” she stutters as she digs at his shoulders, unclasping his cloak. A small chink in her impenetrable walls. That’s all he needs. If she can stay a night, she can stay forever. He hums his assent into her skin, crushing her to him as he makes his way up to kiss her.

Her lips bring back a rush of desire that slams into him with the force of a hurricane. He nips and tugs and demands entrance and, after his incessant demands, Rey finally gives in and kisses him back. Her fingers work at his fineries, undoing the buttons of his jacket until it falls apart, roaming with tentative fingers. Then they stop.

Rey pulls away even as he leans forward to follow, her eyes falling on his collarbone, on the small carved leaf dangling from a golden rope, now faded from its jewel green to almost nothing from years of being worn against his chest. A small sob works itself up her throat and he nuzzles her cheek, trying to bring her back.

“Did you really think I’d forgotten? That I’m only joking when I ask you to stay?” he murmurs and Rey swallows hard. “Please stay.”

His next heartbeat resonates in his ears as he waits for her answer, and Rey looks up at him, constellations in her eyes. She bites her lip, warring with herself for a moment longer before leaning in and placing a soft, chaste kiss on his lips.

“Tonight,” she answers, and Hux smiles. A small victory. He wraps his arms under her bottom and, after some small maneuvering, carries her all the way to his bed.

It is a giant thing, monstrous even by his standards, but it means more space to tangle himself in the sheets with her. Rey lets out a tiny yelp when her head hits the pillow, but she laughs and wraps her arms around his neck, bringing him closer.

“So,” he whispers into her chest again, licking and soothing the small bites he leaves behind. “What would you like me to do _first_ , beautiful?”

Rey groans, writhing under him, and his cock twitches in interest. He lets out a soft ‘hmmm’ around her nipple again. The longer she holds out the more determined he becomes to drag an answer from her, knowing she is teetering on an edge, trying to be a good little Jedi while also desperately wanting to give in. Hux nips and suckles and kisses at any exposed skin he can reach, working her out of her skirts slowly and tossing them over the side of the bed. She lets out soft little pants that only make him get harder.

“Well?” He croons into the tender space where her jaw meets her ear. “I do plan to fuck you tonight, sweetling. It's not a matter of if but when. I can wait a very long time.”

Rey laughs but it's cut short with a breathy moan when his fingers start tracing her mound. She's already wet.

“You'll be the death of me.” She grumbles even as her eyes squeeze shut. Hux chuckles.

“Likewise,” he says, once again kissing her softly. He works a finger over her skin, gently guiding it between her folds and carefully drawing small circles over her clit. “So, what will it be?”

She finally gives in. Rey's lashes flutter as she opens her eyes and looks down at him where he hovers over her midsection. She shakes her head once, then licks her lips.

“Anything you’d like, Your Majesty,” she says, and Hux growls. This is the only time he'd thoroughly enjoy being addressed formally by her.

So, like a man of habit that he is, Hux loses zero time in planting himself between her legs and tasting her. Her thighs quiver when he finally buries his face in her, and by the Maker above if he hadn't missed this. His voice rumbles against her lips as he laps at her, suckles and drags his teeth over a too-sensitive clit that makes her _scream_.

He hums against her then looks up, lips coated as Rey gasps over him and he gently slides two fingers in her, pumping slowly.

“Hmmm, you can't possibly be done yet,” he comments, “there's a long night ahead of us.”

“Please,” the words fall from her lips in a strained plea, twisting his insides. “Please.”

Hux dives back in, dragging from her all sorts of dirty little words and sweet nothings. And oh, how he loves it when she tells him -- orders him -- to eat her pussy out, to lick it and suck her clean, what a wonderful mouth he's got and how much she missed her good little boy. His own cock is straining against his trousers but this night is about her, so he does as he's told and never complains.

Rey finally grabs him by the jacket and pulls him up desperately, and Hux is happy to comply. She peels his layers off until they’re both naked as sin, tangled between the sheets together and Hux finally lets out a long, pleased sigh. He’d been holding it in for so long. But there’s no rush. He nuzzles into her.This is where he belongs, right between her legs. He’d make love to this woman tonight.

He lets his hands roam, caressing every inch of her as he memorizes her anew. Rey lets out soft little panted breaths and mewling sounds underneath him, fingers bunching into his plush sheets, and Hux leans forward to kiss her cupid’s bow.

“Marry me,” he murmurs into her lips. Rey’s eyes flutter open and closed. He’d convince her, no matter how long it took. He repeats those two words with every caress, every kiss, every motion that elicits a sigh, a moan, a whimper from her. Rey digs under the sheets, finally grabbing what she’d wanted all along, and when her fingers wrap around his cock it’s Hux’s time to moan and whimper.

Eventually, though, as it has always been between them, the sweet touches turn towards something else –– searing hot and delicious. He tries, oh, how he tries, to be gentle and coax her into accepting, but even he, a man with an infinite well of patience and an iron will can only take so much when Rey’s fingers start stroking him that way.

“Ngh,” he grunts, a growl blooming in his chest, grinding into her hand as his breath starts picking up. He wouldn’t last if she kept twisting her wrist in that delicious motion that sends shivers up and down his spine. Rey smiles at his temple, planting a soft kiss on it as she tugs up and twists at the head of his cock, dragging another undignified grunt from him.

“I remember this much, at least,” she whispers, and Hux pants into her neck.

“R-Rey,” He grinds into her again and Rey gently pushes him off on his back, tossing the bedsheets aside as she straddles him and continues her ministrations. Hux licks his lips at the view, his hands immediately digging into her thighs as he tries to pull her up, to where he wants her. She gives him a wicked smirk and shakes her head, and five minutes later Hux is _begging_ under her.

“Please, sweetling, please…” the words fall out unbidden. “Please.”

She would always have him at her mercy.

His nails dig into her milky skin and Rey only smiles wider, moving up and grinding on his cock slowly, forward and backward, until he’s slick with her wetness and her eyes are rolling back into her head.

“Tease,” he pants, enjoying the view just as much as she’s enjoying grinding on him, letting his fingers trail up her skin to knead her breasts and tweak her nipples gently. Rey whines at his touch, intensifying her pace, so he pinches harder and licks his lips. She’s close to another orgasm and he can’t stop himself. Hux sits up and bites into her neck, her shoulder, her breast, until she’s crying out incoherent little curses. Then he soothes the bites with his tongue, kisses them gently, and Rey _keens_ at the attention. She finally guides him deep into her and Hux nearly sees the inside of his head as his eyes roll back.

“Fuck,” he curses in a murmur as Rey’s walls clench around him. Her body starts bouncing and Hux has to try and remember how to make his lungs work, but any time he tries to breathe all he can let out are murmured words about his good little girl riding his cock.

Her pace intensifies with his praise and Hux’s head thumps against the headboard as he watches her, swallowing thickly every time her hips gyrate, helping her pace with his hands to her waist. He wants her like this. Just like this. He wants her like this every single day and every single night and he would _have her_ , one way or another.

Even as he considers that, however, he stutters on his thought when Rey leans forward, reaching the peak of her orgasm and dragging him along with over the edge. His arms tighten around her as he pulls her in close and he pushes into her uncontrollably, extending her orgasm, hips pushing erratic thrusts until she’s clenched so tight he can’t move anymore, spilling himself in her. Rey collapses on him, her body twitching and convulsing as he wraps his arms around her even tighter and soothes her down from the aftershocks.

He stays inside her as they both come down from the high, Rey planting soft little butterfly kisses to his neck and Hux running his fingers through her long hair, murmuring into her ear. This is the first of many for the night, and he’s determined to make it a night she won’t forget.

 

*****

 

As promised, she stays the night. The next morning finds Hux with all his limbs tangled in Rey’s and he breathes in, content to open his eyes for once in his life in the morning. A place for everything and everything in its place, and the woman in his arms is exactly where she should be. When he leans up to brush her hair away from her temple, Rey stirs.

She blinks sleepy eyes at him and smiles.

“Good morning,” he says. Rey’s smile widens slightly.

“Good morning,” she repeats as he leans in and plants a soft kiss on her lips.

This. This is his heaven.

In a few hours he would have to put on his robes and his crown and he would have to rule as Emperor of the Galaxy. He would become someone else. Something else. A symbol. He would spend his days in meetings and he’d dole out verdicts on decisions both big and small but here… Here he could just _be_ , wrapped up around the only woman who has only ever seen him as a man. Rey studies his face for a very long time, then her lower lip trembles slightly.

“It won’t be easy,” she says, the words barely audible.

Hux frowns.

“What won’t be easy?” he asks, confused for a split second before she blushes and bites her lower lip. He rubs his thumb on her cheek.

“Rey?”

“Being your wife,” she  says. “It won’t be easy. You’re a difficult man.”

Hux forgets how to breathe for a moment.

“So… you’ll marry me?” he asks, daring to hope. It had been a long night, a _very_ long night. They’re only going on so many hours of sleep as is, but he had made it a point to ask her to marry him every single hour they spent together. Her lashes flutter and she gives a tiny, hesitant nod but Maker it’s all he needs. He grins, capturing her lips again and tugging her to his chest until she’s nearly gasping for air. He releases her then, just enough for her to take a breath.

“So you’ll change the rules?” he asks, and Rey sighs.

“There is nobody else to make the rules but me. I am the last of my kind, after all,” Rey agrees while gently running her fingers through his hair. It’s such a tender thing he shivers. Nobody had touched him with tenderness in so long. “I still need to bring in those children, to teach them the ways of the Jedi. But it will be a challenge.”

Yes. Yes she could do that and anything else she wanted to if only she stayed by his side. He tells her as much, and about how he would give her _anything_ she wanted to make those dreams a reality, and Rey smiles. He leans forward and takes her in a breathtaking kiss that lasts and lasts and lasts. When he finally breaks so that she can breathe, he rubs his nose against hers.

“I enjoy challenges,” he murmurs conspiratorially.

**Author's Note:**

> Because you all told me I crushed your dreams and killed your kittens with the ending to Manners, here's an alternative ending. The other one's still "canon" (as in, there are no happy reunions) but hey, we all need a bit of tooth-rotting fluff sometimes. Also smut ;) This is me asking for your forgiveness.


End file.
